David & Amy

Today is a very special day in the life of Kylie…She finally has two teeth!  Her bottom two both broke through tonight and she has had the crankiness all day to prove it, the poor thing.
                                                                                   If you blow up the pic and squint, I promise, they are there
 

On Saturday Emily and I along with Kate and Sally went to see the local rendition of the Nutcracker.  David and I had taken her last year and she enjoyed it a lot more this time around.  She asked questions and paid attention and thoroughly enjoyed clapping.  She was also very excited to visit with the ballerinas afterward.  The crowds were so thick we called it quits after the first flower fairy.
     

We went to a friend’s house last night to see Santa.  He was gracious enough to stop by during his busy schedule and we didn’t have to stand in line at the mall.  J Emily asked him for a trampoline and a pink bouncy ball that will bounce up to the moon—oh my!

This morning I got out of the shower and glanced out at the kids to see how they were doing and found Driscella (from Cinderella) in time out.  After inquiring what that poor girl had done, I learned that they were having a race and Driscella tore up the finish line. So, she was in trouble.  I love kids!

Our little lady, Emily, is now 5 years old (on November 29^th).  We can hardly believe it!  She requested castle pancakes for breakfast, so here is a picture of my attempt.  She went to Preschool and was decked out by her teacher with a sticker and crown.  That evening was our city’s tree lighting, so why not tell the kid it’s all for her? J  There were tons of events there.  The kids watched a puppet show, played in pink limo and there was even a place that did up-do’s for the girls.  While Emily was getting her hair fixed and glittered the teenager fixing her up found out it was her birthday and had all the other Sweet and Sassy employees sing to her.  She was very impressed.  What could be better for a little princess?!  

Castle Pancakes                                      



 
    Inside the Sweet & Sassy Limo
 

Getting Dolled Up!
  

Showing off the face painting
  
                                                  Whee!
                                                 

On Saturday we took Emily and her best friend Kate to the Incredible Pizza Company and let them eat, bowl and play.  They had a really good time and I didn’t have to have 12 little 4-5 year olds in my house—whew!

One day last week I had a heap of laundry on the bed and a couple of crazy whiny kids who didn’t want to play out back anymore.  So, I had some plastic tablecloths and told them they were superheroes.  It was great!  They gave me at least another half and hour, however I was taking pictures of them…oh well, there is always laundry.

Thanksgiving morning was great!  We went to the park that is behind our house and went for a walk (there is a 3 mile trail) and David rode his bike with Dallin in the trailer.  There is also a BMX bike trail and I venture to say that is the first time a bike trailer and a two-year-old have been over those dirt hills, but the boys had a blast.  We came home watched the parade and made our fruit turkey.  What is a fruit turkey you ask?  See below.  We spent Thanksgiving at my parent’s house (Hufstedler’s) and had a great time.

The following weekend was decorate the house time—yea!  David doesn’t seem to have quite the same excitement I do about the whole idea, but I love it.  Emily again was our little angel who put the star on top of the tree.  She did a fabulous job.  The outside lights were completed awhile later due to rain, but except for a sprained ankle, the roof climbing really wasn’t that big of  a deal was it David?

Time has flown by and we have not kept up with the blog as we should—oops!  Thanksgiving is rapidly approaching, along with Emily’s birthday and all the Christmas festivities.  At least for the time being Kylie’s life has settled down enough to make room for the upcoming fun-thank goodness!

Last week I took the kiddos to McDonalds.  Apparently on Tuesday afternoons they have a clown that comes and face paints and lets the kids sing karaoke.  They asked Emily to sing Twinkle Twinkle.  No surprise for those of you who know her, she refused and sang with all her might... I am a Child of God.  How can we not be proud of that kid?  Anyway here is a picture of the outcome of that afternoon.  Dallin is looking a little cranky, it was well past naptime, by the time we got home.

 

We found this bathrobe that someone had given us and put it on Kylie.  We think she is very stylish.

Last week we packed up the kids and car and headed to San Antonio.  David had a client he had to meet there, so the Chronicle footed the bill for the hotel and gas.  J  We had a great time just relaxing, and David and the kids swam in the pool.  I was suffering from a really bad case of bronchitis and poor David ended up packing everything as I sat there with a 102+ degree fever.  Pretty miserable, but I did start feeling better later in the week.  After we left San Antonio we headed to Del Rio, Texas.  David’s brother Jeff and his family live there.  Their oldest daughter Rachel was baptized that weekend so the whole family went to celebrate.  The kids had a marvelous time playing with all their cousins and amazingly enough we actually got some good visiting in even with all 11 kids under 9.  Whew!  

  

Jeff''s son Jordan


Emily getting sword fighting lessons from her cousin Jacob.
 

On Saturday we headed to the border and spent the morning in Mexico.  We tried on cheap hats, bought cheap souvenirs and ate cheap taquitos.  Our nephew, Jacob, really got into the spirit of things and had a good time sitting against a building drinking a bottle of apple soda (see: drunk kid, below).  We headed home Saturday afternoon and with the invention of the DVD player and some good Disney classics we had an uneventful trip home.

 

A couple of weeks back I made a blueberry pie to take out to my parents house for Sunday dinner.  I gave the kids the leftover dough to play with and boy oh boy did they have fun.  They made a disaster of the kitchen floor, but those budding little chefs had a blast.

 

The end of October came with a bang in this house hold.  The kids decided long ago that Disney’s JoJo’s Circus had to be our theme.  Unless you are a parent of a toddler/preschooler you probably have no idea what I am talking about and that is fine—bask in it!  With the help of eBay and Disney online we found the costumes.  Since Emily insisted that David, Kylie, and I all dress as clowns, we looked a little ridiculous trick-or-treating, but the kids loved it.  We had our BooBash at Church that night and most everyone was dressed up there, so some of the embarrassment subsided.  Also, to make it all right we won the best dressed family—yea, the icing on the cake. J

  

Don't drop Kylie!


 

Emily had a Halloween party at her preschool which all the moms and siblings were invited to.

   

Of course Halloween was preceded by a night of carving and scooping and mess.  Aren’t our traditions weird?  We had a good time, and for about a week following Dallin kept asking why the trash man took his pumpkin away.  Poor kid.

 
 

Kylie loves beads--we just discovered this.  This is how she spent the evening. 

Well wouldn’t you know that the weather had been unbelievably perfect, so on October 26^th we decided to take the family camping.  Just our luck, it was the coldest night we’ve had so far this fall.  Wow, we always seem to know how to pick them-same thing happened last year.  Each kid went to bed with 14 layers on, we said prayers and we survived.  Really it wasn’t that cold (the low was about 44), but it sure seemed to be when it had been so warm.  We went to Brazos Bend State Park and spent the following morning going on a nature walk and scaring our kids silly of alligators!
    

  

  
Dallin is staring at one alligator, not noticing the other once over his shoulder.